Information Provision and Support for Inheritance Taxation: Evidence from a Representative Survey Experiment in Germany

Luna Bellani, Kattalina Berriochoa, Mark Kapteina and Guido Schwerdt

No 11189, CESifo Working Paper Series from CESifo

Abstract: We study the effects of information on attitudes towards inheritance taxation using survey experiments fielded in Germany. We show that information about tax allowances increases demand for higher taxes and shifts public opinion from favoring abolition to supporting the tax. Effects are primarily due to a prevalent underestimation of tax allowances and the alteration of people’s expectations of being affected by such taxes. In contrast, information highlighting the increasing proportion of inherited wealth only negligibly affects policy demand. Our results suggest that pocketbook motives and misinformation may contribute to explaining the paradox of limited demand for inheritance taxation despite growing inequality concerns.

Keywords: capital taxation; equality of opportunity; inheritance tax; information; randomized experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 D83 H20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eec, nep-exp, nep-mac, nep-pbe and nep-pub
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Related works:
Working Paper: Information Provision and Support for Inheritance Taxation: Evidence from a Representative Survey Experiment in Germany (2024)
Working Paper: Information provision and support for inheritance taxation: Evidence from a representative survey experiment in Germany (2024)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11189

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